


Partners

by floofy_altaria



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters: Ruby & Sapphire & Emerald | Pokemon Ruby Sapphire Emerald Versions, Pokemon
Genre: AU, M/M, Team Rocket AU, hardenshipping - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-07
Updated: 2015-10-16
Packaged: 2018-04-25 08:14:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 1,840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4953010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/floofy_altaria/pseuds/floofy_altaria
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Archie and Maxie, two Team Rocket grunts, are assigned together as partners, but they're not what you'd call close.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Try Not To Mess It Up

**Author's Note:**

> I really like the idea of Archie and Maxie being ex-Rocket grunts. I also like the idea of their full names being Archibold and Maximilian. I am Hardenshipping trash leave me be

“Maxie, you do realise just how big a mistake you’ve made?” Maxie sighed, sitting in his chair in front of his boss. “Yes, yes, I know, but it was also my partner’s fault. The man is so incredibly dense he wouldn't have noticed the trainer if I hadn’t pointed it out.” Maxie sighed irritably. “Also, sir, my name is Maximilian.” 

The Team Rocket boss growled leaning in closer to Maxie. “You listen to me, now. I don’t care what your fancy name is or what your partner’s like. You had a perfect shot at getting that trainer’s pokemon, and you blew it because of your own stupidity.” Maxie clenched his fists, about to talk back to him, when the boss cut him short. “Get out of my office.”

Maxie stomped out of the room, slamming the door behind him and almost taking it off its hinges. Another Rocket grunt was hanging out in the hallway, eating some food he probably stole off another grunt. Maxie immediately recognised him as Archie, his partner from his last failed mission. The grunt looked over at him and waved, oblivious to the obvious anger on Maxie’s face. “Oh, hey, it’s you again. Max-something-or-other, yeah?” 

Maxie strode up to him and knocked the food out of his hands, grabbing his collar and not even bothering to correct him on what his name was. “YOU. You almost got me fired because of that mission!” Archie stared at him, not knowing what to say for a moment, and then prying Maxie’s hands off him forcefully. “Hey, it wasn’t my fault! The damn pokeball broke, there was nothing I could do about it!”

Maxie scoffed and glared at him. “THAT’S because you threw it so carelessly it went straight towards the ground and smashed. We had ONE chance to impress our boss, Archibold, and you WASTED it!” Archie rolled his eyes. “First of all, it’s Archie, not Archibold. Second of all, who cares about impressing the boss? He’s not gonna fire any grunts anytime soon, because if we get fired, nobody else is gonna join this stupid team.” 

Maxie was about to completely lose it and start yelling, but instead took a deep breath and calmed himself. “Alright. Ok. Next time we go on a mission, Archibold, I’ll do all the work. You just…” He put a hand on Archie’s shoulder, “You just try not to mess it up again.” Maxie walked away, trying to mask that he was still angry. Archie watched him as he left, scowling as he picked his food back up from the floor and walked away.


	2. Dusk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The two grunts are out again, scouting for pokemon to snatch from behind a bush, but Maxie is a little too determined to catch one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaa im sorry for the delay! School had been keeping me from writing, but here you go! i hope you like fluff.

Maxie and Archie sat in the bushes, keeping dead silent. Well, Maxie was, anyway. Archie would occasionally grumble under his breath about how he hated missions where he had to wait around, or mess around with his hair until it looked like it had been run through a bush several times. Maxie looked disinterested, but he supposed that Archie’s random acts were actually pretty entertaining to watch while they waited for some unsuspecting trainer to walk by so they could snatch their pokemon.

What felt like years seemed to pass as they waited there, growing more frustrated and irritable by the hour. Eventually, as the sky began to grow dark, Archie flopped down on the ground, sighing loudly. His voice was rough, and he was obviously very tired. “How much do you wanna bet that all the other grunts are getting trainers galore wherever they are?” Maxie put his head in his hands. “I don’t know and I don’t care. All that matters right now is that we’re not leaving until we get at least one pokemon.” Maxie yawned and rubbed his eyes. “I’m not letting the boss down again.”

Archie glared at Maxie. The very determined other looked terrible, his eyes heavy and he had to keep resisting the urge to yawn. Archie was sure that Maxie was going to pass out any second now. "We could just come back tomorrow, Max. Nobody's gonna show up here, not at this time." No answer. Archie groaned and say up, getting a look at the other's face. Maxie was out cold, his face buried in the bush in front of him. Archie had to stifle a laugh. The other grunt looked a lot less intimidating when he was asleep. 

Archie, who was still struggling to contain his laughter, was debating whether or not he should wake him up. If he woke Maxie up, he would most likely be forced to wait in the bushes for another millennium, and he was in NO mood for that. He decided to try and escape back home, so he got up, almost falling over in the process from not using his legs for a few hours. He began walking down the street, grumbling about his sore legs, but he soon glanced back at Maxie.

The other was still completely out of it, and faint snoring could be heard in the quiet of the night. Archie was going to just turn back around and leave, but the soft part of him felt bad for leaving Maxie behind. He hesitated, then walked back, and very, very gently picked up Maxie bridal-style. Thankfully, the other was so tired he didn't even stir, he just lay there in Archie’s arms. Archie chuckled at the sight. He thought that Maxie looked cute, adorable, even, when he was asleep. Or at least, when he wasn’t angry and shouting at him. He was kinda attractive, actually.

Archie paused and shook his head, dismissing that thought for now. He started walking back to his house, making sure not to wake Maxie as he stumbled through the dark.


	3. Good Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Archie and Maxie have a conversation in the living room as dawn breaks, but Archie's choice of words leads to some awkwardness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hhhHHHH im sorry this took so long and im sorry its so short but i hope you enjoy this lil piece of gay

The sunlight was beginning to shine through the gaps in the curtains, much to the dismay of Archie, who was still half asleep. He was still in his Team Rocket uniform from the night before, and he had never been this tired in his life. He groaned as he sat up on the couch, his entire body hurting, and glanced at Maxie. The other was asleep on another couch, left there by Archie. He couldn’t make out whether he was awake or not, but he looked terrible. His hair was a mess and he looked like he hadn’t had a day of sleep in years. Archie chuckled at the sight, though he wasn’t that much better off. His hair looked like it was about to take over his entire face, and his beard was incredibly untidy.

Archie stood up (which proved to be difficult) and was about to walk into the kitchen when he heard a small noise coming from Maxie’s direction. He glanced over his shoulder and saw the other grunt trying to sit up. He looked very confused, examining his unfamiliar surroundings, and almost jumped out of his skin when Archie spoke. “‘Morning, Max.” 

Maxie stared at Archie, the surprised expression on his face turning into his usual scowl. “Archibold? What is this?! We were supposed to stay there!” Archie shrugged. “You passed out after about a million years, and I didn’t have it in me to just leave you there, so I brought you back to my place. Simple, really.” Maxie growled, sitting up properly on the couch. “You could’ve woken me up!” Archie shook his head. “No way. I wasn’t sticking around for another round of nothing. Besides, you looked so cute when you were sleeping. I didn’t want to wake you up.” Immediately after that sentence came from Archie’s mouth, he thought that “cute” probably wasn’t the correct word to say. His cheeks began to turn a very soft pink.

Maxie breathed in slowly and was about to go on a rant when he too processed what Archie just said. He paused for a second “...You think I look cute?” Maxie’s scowl faded, and unknown to him, he began to blush. Archie messed with his collar. “I… Uh… Well, yeah, I guess. When yer not trying to kill me, yer pretty cute.” Maxie turned away, looking very flustered. Archie slowly sat next to him, biting his lip. “S-sorry if that was too awkward for you, I understand if y-” He was cut off by Maxie. “No, Archie, it’s just... I’ve never had someone call me that before.”


	4. See You Soon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maxie and Archie have a final conversation before Maxie leaves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you like gay fluff. (i was very tired when I wrote this and it shows. Sorry for the delays between chapters, I've got a lot going on, but I'll try get back into the swing on things! I hope you enjoy this chapter. There might be one more chapter

Archie raised an eyebrow, looking at Maxie in disbelief. Maxie noticed this and scoffed, shoving him a little. "Does that come as a surprise to you?" Archie nodded. "Well, yeah, actually! Somebody's bound to have told you!" The other grunt shook his head and sighed, sounding somewhat sad. “No, no. It’s probably because I am in no way physically attractive.” Maxie was looking down at the ground, digging his fingernails into the palm of his hand. “I’m average, at the most.” Archie shushed him, holding one of Maxie’s hands. “I don’t think yer average.”

Before Maxie could argue, Archie spoke once more. “I’m serious. Not only in terms of looks. Yer the most dedicated grunt on this team. I’m pretty sure all of us grunts would be completely directionless without you. The ‘ol boss ain’t even as good at getting us all to shut up and do what we’re told.” Archie laughed, and Maxie’s blush returned. He looked surprised at what Archie was saying. Never in a million years did he think he would hear those words come out of that mouth.

The very flustered grunt took a deep breath. “Archibold?” “Yeah?” Before Archie could even react, he felt Maxie giving him a very hesitant and awkward hug. “Thank you.” Archie chuckled softly and kissed Maxie’s forehead. “Just ‘Archie’ is fine.”

Maxie’s cheeks flared up and he began to stutter, surprised by the sudden kiss. Archie laughed, ruffling his hair a little. “Oh man, I didn’t think you could get any more adorable.” Maxie rolled his eyes. “I-I… You didn’t g-give me any warning!” Archie shrugged. “Alright then. I’m going to kiss you again. Is that cool with you?” Maxie nodded slowly, and Archie kissed him again, this time on the lips. Maxie tensed up awkwardly at first, but soon he relaxed, letting himself melt into the kiss. Before long, the two were embracing each other on Archie’s couch in the pale light of the morning, exchanging kisses and smiling.

When the morning turned into the afternoon, Maxie had fixed himself up, looking a lot more neat and only slightly less tired (Archie, on the other hand, still looked ridiculous, his hair even worse than it had been that morning.) He began to walk towards the door to leave, when he heard Archie call him. “Hey, Max…” The redhead turned around, and was immediately greeted by a kiss on the cheek by Archie. “I’ll see you at the Rocket headquarters today, yeah?” Maxie nodded. “I looked forward to seeing you again Archibo-” He corrected himself, “Archie.” Archie laughed and shoved him. “See you then, nerd.” Maxie sighed and waved at him as he walked out the door, and thought that maybe having Archie as his partner wouldn’t be so bad anymore.


End file.
